A Russian Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Chechnya killing eight people on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported, at least the third fatal Mi-8 crash in the rebel province this year. "Three crew members and five passengers from the Tuzkharoi border division died," Interfax quoted an military spokesman as saying. He said one man survived but was injured.
No one at Russia's Defence Ministry was immediately available for comment.
Interfax said the helicopter came down in south-western Chechnya.